Four Founders, Reborn?
by Redraw
Summary: What if James Potter and Alice had a little brother? What if the two infamous Black brothers and Avery had a little sister? What if all four of the younger siblings were in the same year, and all sorted into different houses? Well, it could be worse- surprisingly, it's not all that bad.
1. Chapter 1

****A/N: It's very oc centered and based in the marauders era. The main p.o.v will most likely be Maia Black, though the plot isn't as concrete as the one in my other story so that could change. Maybe. If you have any suggestions, please pm me or review!****

 ** **Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world or any of its characters.****

 ** **Henry Potter****

"Can't I __please__ have the broom?!" Henry whined, giving his mom a pleading look. But Euphemia, long immune to the look from years of experience with him and her eldest, only shook her head as her husband laughed from next to her.

"You know the rules, Henry- first years aren't allowed brooms. Really, you think you'd remember with how loud James complained about it all year," she told him, kind yet firm in her denial. A squawk of protest was heard from behind, and they turned to see two black haired boys walking up to them, the one with ruffled hair and glasses bearing a mock pout on his face (one that, in Henry's own opinion, he was far too old for).

"I wasn't __that__ bad-"

"And to be fair, the rule __is__ quite ridiculous-"

"Especially considering all the other things they allowed-"

"At least, until we started using them-"

"-and they also got banned," they finished for each other, sharing absurdly large grins with each other all the while. Henry sighed as his parents laughed from next to him, ignoring the entire conversation in favor of staring longingly at the window in front of him. In it showcased the brand new Nimbus 1001, sleek and trimmed and already proven to be the fastest on the market, absolutely perfect from every angle. Lost in his thoughts, he wasn't paying attention to the world around him and jumped when he felt a hand press against his head, looking up only to see his brother smiling down at him. Henry glared, remembering the argument they had just before leaving- not that James noticed.

He __never__ noticed. So, it was only with a painstakingly great amount of patience that Henry kept himself from snapping at his brother the moment he saw him open his big, fat mouth. "So, our dear old mum didn't get you the new broom, did she? Have you tried bribing her with chocolate?"

The gleeful way in which he said it only made Henry glare all the harder. James knew that their mum said no- Henry had been asking all week, and now it felt like his brother was just rubbing it in. And bribing her with chocolate? Really? Did he __think__ Henry was an idiot? " _ _Yes__ , James, I did, and no, it didn't work!"

His brother raised an eyebrow at his mulish tone, Henry not having done as good a job of refraining from snapping than he thought he would have. Not that he cared much- he completely deserved it and he knew it, though he'd never admit to it. Because, of course, when was the great and holy James ever wrong?

"Well what's got your pansies in a twist?" Henry just huffed, pushing the intruding arm off his head and looking around for a distraction. Meanwhile his brother watched him in confusion, a dawning look of realization spreading across his features. "Wait, you're not __still__ upset about this morning, are you?"

The condescending tease had Henry gritting his teeth in annoyance, nowhere near ready to forgive or forget or anything remotely resembling it, after what he'd done. " _ _Still__ upset? You broke my favorite telescope and never even said sorry!"

James scoffed as Sirius began striding over, sensing the rising tension. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Apparently little Henny's not over what happened this morning-"

"The telescope? You're __still__ upset about that?"

"Yes, I am!" Henry snapped, annoyed. "I've had it for years and it was specially charmed and now it's broken because you weren't being careful with one of your stupid, idiotic pranks!"

"Stupid?!" Sirius repeated, aghast.

"Idiotic?" James asked faintly, as if not being sure he heard right. "Sirius, did he just say what I think he said?"

Sirius nodded solemnly. "That he did." He looked at Henry with disappointment, slowly shaking his head. "Come on James, it's clear we're not wanted here."

James spun around with a sniff. "Sorry Henny, guess you'll just have to find someone else to show you all the cool, hidden passageways and help get you out of detention..."

Henry began following where their parents had gone without a word, refusing to take the bait. Whatever, he could do it by himself anyways! A small smile lit up his face at the thought. Hogwarts. Just one more week...

"Aha! So the little Hen can smile, after all!"

The smile vanished as soon as it had come. __"Shut- "__

 ** **~.~****

 ** **Maia Black****

 _ _"-up!__ Have you not been listening to a word I've been saying?! _ _"__

"M-madam, please- forgive me-" The door shut with a click, drowning out the rest of the noise as her cousin walked into the room. "Mai? Everything alright?"

Maia groaned into the pillow as Narcissa sank into her feather mattress, debating whether or not to get up. The choice, however, was quite literally taken from her hands as the woolen blanket she'd been cuddling with was gently pried away. Dejectedly, she rolled into a sitting position with a long, drawn out sigh. "Does she have to be so __loud?__ "

Narcissa gave her a sympathetic grimace. "Well, you know how Bell is...especially with __their__ kind," she told her, a vile note creeping into her normally chipper voice. Maia just nodded along, more focused on wiping the sleep from her eyes and only half paying attention to their current conversation. That was how most of her conversations were, actually.

"What did the man do this time?"

"Oh, same as the last, wrong gem, common style..." Maia only shrugged.

"Can't be any worse than the man that got her finger size wrong," she commented idly. Narcisssa giggled at that, smiling at her with a certain fondness that had Maia ducking her head to look away. The sudden touch on her shoulder had her startled, and she looked up into wide, adoring eyes staring back at her. "I'm glad you're here, Mai. I know it's been tough for you the past few years, and with what's coming up...if you ever want to talk about it, I'll always be here to listen. Okay?"

Maia hesitated only a moment, but soon leaned into the touch, slumping her fragile eleven year old body into the older woman's welcoming arms. "Thank you, Cissy."

She felt a rush of affection for her cousins then, though she knew she wouldn't be taking her up on her offer any time soon. After all, what was there to say about the two brothers she hadn't seen since they left for the gigantic magic school? She hardly even remembered what they looked like now, the only pictures she had of them being the ones she'd drawn so messily as a child, more like the remnants of vague dreams half forgotten...

One more week. Just seen more days, and then-

 ** **~.~****

 ** **Lucas White****

 _ _"-then__ what'll I do?"

Alice sighed, an amused, yet all too exasperated sigh as she rubbed her temple, trying to ward off the oncoming headache. "Lucas, you know I love you and I'm only saying this with the best intentions for you in mind, but from the bottom of my heart I sincerely doubt you'll run into you-know-who dressed up as a teenager trying to talk you into buying poisoned chocolate for his funding."

A large set of puppy dog eyes met her declaration. "You never know, it could happen!"

Alice drummed her fingers on the wooden desk in her room, looking down at her half written letter to Frank Longbottom. He'd recently graduated, and when she first sent him a letter she had half expected him to ignore it, but lo and behold she'd gotten a reply the very next day! And now here she was, trying to send a fast reply and maybe even deepen the conversation, yet she didn't want to come off as clingy...

"Hey, whatcha got there?" A small hand grasped for the page, one that she had just prevented from stealing it by slamming her elbow onto the desk. __Hard.__ She turned to her brother with a twitching eyebrow, which he responded to with an unrepentant grin. "Ooh, are you writing a letter to your __boyfriend?__ I wonder what Mom will say if I-"

"If I give you my sneakoscope, will you just go?!"

"Yeah, promise! Watch, I won't even cross my fingers and-"

"Second shelf on the left, in the dark blue bag." The eleven year old boy let out a loud whoop at the information, eagerly jumping onto her bed and knocking over the brand new nail polish Marlene had bought her for her birthday. Before she could even think to reprimand him, he was bouncing off the bed and out the door, calling out a hurried "thanks, sis!" over his shoulder. He grinned when he stopped outside, hearing the long string of grumbling left behind in his wake. He was doing it. They were so sure he wouldn't, that he'd turn out a muggle like his parents but he didn't and now he was off to Hogwarts-

 ** **~.~****

 ** **Adeline Avery****

"-already. It feels like just yesterday that your brother was sitting there, being fitted for robes for his own first year!" Adeline hummed noncommittally in response, trying to pick out patterns in the bleak walls around her.

"So, I don't suppose you know what house you'd like to be put into yet? Of course you never really know until you get sorted, but-"

Adeline scoffed, cutting the woman off mid-sentence. She didn't need to hear such nonsense. "What are you talking about? I'll be in Slytherin, of course."

"Oh, like your-"

"Adeline, has your brother informed you about Maia yet?" her mother interrupted, clearly just as annoyed as her daughter. Adeline frowned, but didn't say anything knowing her mother would continue speaking regardless of her answer. "She can't make it due to family circumstance. Her cousin, Bellatrix, is visiting someone and found it imperative that she take Maia with her to experience a 'true, pureblood worthy culture' before she leaves for school- though, I can't say I blame her. It was why I took you with me to visit your Aunt a couple weeks ago, not that..."

Adeline closed her eyes, blocking out the uncomfortable fitting and her mother's droning voice that continued repeating things she already knew. Soon, she wouldn't have to retreat to her mind in cases like this. She would have the freedom to choose where she went, what she did, who she talked to- all to an extent, of course. It would just be her, her brother and Maia, finally able to be together everyday... Maia and her would share a room, even, and she would be the one to reunite her with her older brother, Regulus; he wasn't too bad, and Adeline still didn't understand why they had to be separated all this time. He was perfectly fine, polite and capable, unlike the other brother, if not a bit dull sometimes.

Just seven more days. Seven more days, and they would all be at Hogwarts together.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello! Thank you for giving this story a chance. I'll probably do the next chapter in Henry's perspective. Or at least part of it. Probably. Would you guys prefer I stick to one perspective (and if so, who?), or divide it between all of them? I'm open to any suggestions! If not...guess we'll just see what happens.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world or any of its characters.**

 **Chapter Two**

"Oh Maia, make us proud, okay?" Maia stayed still as her cousin bent down to her level, brushing a cold hand across her cheek as piercing black eyes met stoic steel gray. "If you see either of your brothers-"

"Hex them?" Maia suggested, having heard it repeated enough throughout the years.

Bellatrix smiled. "Only if you can get away with it. Otherwise, get an older Slytherin and write back immediately, alright? Regulus has gotten better, but it's best to be cautious."

The unspoken part about Sirius said volumes. An up and coming blood traitor, they were calling him. An unpredictable threat. Maia thought back to times when all three of them played happily together as children and fought to stay silent. People change. They were just strangers now, nothing more than fellow wizards. It repeated over and over again in her head as Bellatrix waited expectantly. They were separated for a reason.

 _But why?_

"I will. Who should I address the letter to?"

Bellatrix's smile seemed to sharpen as she studied her like one might an interesting potion, and she began pushing loose strands of her hair behind her ear before slowly retracting her hand. "I trust you to have good judgment in that. We'll see you again come Christmas, and you can tell us all about how much Slytherin's changed since we've graduated."

Maia could only nod to that and all its implications, unwilling to voice the question that had been lingering in her head since she was seven. Satisfied, Bella pressed one last kiss to her forehead before shooing her away into the steadily growing crowd of children ready to board the train. By the time she thought to look back, her cousin had already apparated away.

 **~.~**

"Maia, over here!"

Maia didn't put up a fight as she was pulled onto the train by her best friend, who at least looked like she knew where she was going. As expected, the explanation came on the way there. "Aidrik already found an empty compartment and put our trunks into it, so we can have it all to ourselves! I asked him to stay, but of course he was too busy with his other friends in a compartment near the front. He said we could sit there, but he'd have to leave soon anyways because of prefect meeting and one of his Professors sending him an invitation to dine with him. Can you believe it? It'd also be really crowded. Do you want to sit there?"

Adeline only finished once they were right outside the empty compartment she mentioned, which also just so happened to be at the very end of the train. Maia gave her friend a deadpan look, but when Adeline only blinked in askance, shook her head and opened the compartment without a word of complaint. "Here is fine."

"That's what I thought! Aidrik said I should still ask, though, just in case. Say, how was your trip with your cousin? Was it just you two? Last time I went on a trip like that it was terrible, just a bunch of old people who talked nonsense with each other..."

 **~.~**

"Four to a boat, he says. Why not just one? They have enough money! Crazy old lazy cheapskates..." Henry muttered under his breath, pushing through the crowd to look for an available boat. All the ones he could see were already filled, and he was about to let loose a long string of some rather creative expletives he'd learned over the years when laughter was heard from behind.

"I think I saw one not too far from here that still had two seats open. Wanna go on it together?" Lucas bit back another mirthful laugh at the frustrated boy in front of him (an actual wizard that was his own age!), opting for an introduction instead as he held out his hand. "I'm Lucas!"

The brunette eyed him curiously, reaching out to shake his own hand with a growing smile. "Henry. So, you saw a boat..?"

With no other warning but a jerk of his head the other boy went running off, and Henry let out a surprised curse as he had to chase after him through the large crowd to the very end, where two girls sat conversing animatedly inside a half empty boat. Lucas bounced up without hesitation, and Henry uncertainly followed behind. "Hey! Can we join you?"

The blonde girl gave them a brief, dismissive glance before turning a questioning look to her black haired friend, who only tilted her head. It reminded him strangely of the silent communication between his brother and Sirius, and Henry frowned. Finally, the blonde nodded. "I don't see why not."

There was a small moment of awkward silence before the black haired girl began talking to the blonde again, and Henry's new ginger friend turned to him with a grin. "Well, guess that worked out! So what house do you want to be in? I have a sister that's in Gryffindor!"

Henry blinked. "Really? What year is she in? I have a brother in there, but he's a complete jerk..."

For the rest of the ride the two talked, an unspoken, mutual understanding for each pair to ignore the other, immersed as they were in their conversations. Besides, it was just a boat ride. They'd all be spending seven years under the same building anyways, so what harm could it possibly do?

 **~.~**

 _"I'm not scared!" The six year old girl only laughed at that, giving him an amused look before going back to drawing. Sirius pouted. "I'm not!"_

 _"But why else wouldn't you go to-mmmph!"_

 _"Don't say it out loud!" Sirius looked around his bedroom paranoid, listening for any indication someone liked to be listening in. He yelped and yanked his hand away from his sister's mouth when he felt a sudden wetness on his palm, giving her a disgusted look. She only pouted in response, continuing to give him an imploring look as if she hadn't just slobbered all over his hand._

 _Sirius huffed. "It's where Mom and Dad want us to go, so it has to be terrible! Honestly Mai, you can't tell me you haven't noticed the way Bella and Cissy changed after going to Hogwarts, right?"_

 _Maia frowned in thought before shrugging. "I guess so." She didn't sound too convinced, but hurriedly continued before Sirius could comment. "Anyways, you'll write, won't you? The Slytherin stories are getting a little boring, so you have to make a lot of friends and do a bunch of crazy stuff to make new ones!"_

 _Sirius grinned at that, all previous negativity gone as he began to laugh, ruffling her hair and ignoring her protests all the while. "Yeah, it's a promise! And when you and Reg come you'll get sorted into the same house, and we'll all be famous for breaking the tradition!"_

 _"And all the rules?" Maia asked hopefully._

 _Sirius smirked. "Do you even need to ask?"_

 _ **~.~**_

 _"-NOTHING BUT A FILTHY DISGRACE TO OUR FAMILY NAME! AND UNTIL YOU REDEEM YOURSELF, YOU'RE BANNED FROM TALKING WITH YOUR BROTHER AND SISTER AND TAINTING THEM ANY FURTHER THAN YOU ALREADY HAVE!"_

 _Sirius sat horrified, barely registering as James shouted at the rest of the Great Hall and led him outside. "Mate, you can't tell me you actually believe any of that! Listen, your brother will be here next year. You said you two got along, right? He can help you send letters to her if your parents won't..."_

 _ **~.~**_

 _"What do you mean they're not here?!"_

 _"Your siblings will be on vacation with your mother for the duration of the summer..."_

 _ **~.~**_

 _"Sirius!" Regulus caught his brother from the arm, unable to withhold a smile as he handed over the piece of parchment. "From Maia."_

 _Sirius stared at him incredulously for a minute as the paper was shoved into his hands. He finally began to grin as his brain caught up, eyes alight with excitement and, for the first time in a while, pulled his brother into a large hug, clutching the paper he gave him like a lifeline. "I love you, Reggie."_

 _"It's fine. It's what brothers are for, isn't it?"_

 _ **~.~**_

 _"-JUST AS BAD AS YOUR BROTHER, TRYING TO DECIEVE YOUR OWN PARENTS, ASSOCIATING WITH THAT FILTH! YOU WILL LEARN TO BEHAVE YOURSELF LIKE A BLACK SHOULD, OR YOU WILL NEVER SEE YOUR SISTER AGAIN!"_

 _ **~.~**_

 _"What do you mean you haven't heard from her?!"_

 _"I don't know, Sirius! The letters just keep getting sent back!"_

 _"Even Narcissa and-"_

 _"Yes! This wouldn't even be happening if you'd just learned to behave properly the first time around-"_

 _"Me?! I'm not the one who was idiotic enough to get caught-"_

 _ **~.~**_

 _"Maia is out traveling with your mother-"_

 _"-visiting your cousins-"_

 _"-visiting your aunt and uncle-"_

 _"-took a small trip to France-"_

 _"-America-"_

 _"-staying with her friends-"_

 _ **~.~**_

"Black, Maia!"

The Great Hall, if possible, went even quieter than it already was until the only sound was the quiet breathing of the people nearby. Sirius shared a look with James before his eyes strayed back to the front. The heavy feeling of dread he'd had since morning came bubbling back full force, and he fought to act calm and normal, grinning whenever one of his friends gave him a worried look. Curiously, his eyes darted to the other side of the room where they met a pair far too similar to his own, and in that moment, he knew they were thinking the same thing.

 **~.~**

 _Where will I go?_

Maia gave a nervous glance over to the Slytherin table, where Adeline shot her a small smile. She searched the table, but there were too many people to find the one she was looking for...

A nudge to her side brought her back to reality, and she gave the blonde a small nod of thanks before walking up to the stool in front. She wondered how she was able to hear her footsteps with the loud pounding of her heartbeat in her ears, but quickly vanished the thought when she came closer to where the professor stood holding the singing hat. Obviously, if the song from earlier was any indication, it had it's own mind. Was it able to read other minds? Would it look into all of Maia's memories? Could it?

Suddenly, Maia began second guessing the whole event, but was too far in to back out. She took deep breathes, reciting random bits of information in her head to stay calm. The Black family had been going to Hogwarts for magical schooling ever since her great-great-great-grandfather's days, when he had a complaint about the quality of teaching at Durmstrang. Then her great-great grandfather became one of the least popular headmasters of Hogwarts and the rest of the family fell in line, though that was when they still taught dark magic...

"You'll do fine." Maia startled at that, staring at the Gryffindor head of house in shock. Was her nervousness that obvious? Before she could think to ask, the hat was placed over her head and the rest of the world was lost as she became engaged in a mental debate that would drastically change the course of her fate.

 **~.~**

The longer it took, the more relieved he felt. By the time ten seconds had passed and his little sister still hadn't been sorted, he felt a strange sense of happiness. Even if she did follow the family tradition, at least that wasn't all there was to her personality. Not like Regulus.

"Padfoot, you look more worried about it than she does, and she's the one getting sorted!"

Sirius only nodded at his friend's analysis, too preoccupied with studying the girl at the front of the room to respond. Her hair had grown out several inches, and would probably have fallen to her waist if it wasn't done in such an elaborate updo. Sirius vaguely recalled her complaining about wearing her hair up, and wondered if that had changed. Or if it hadn't, and it'd been forced on her, and by who.

She did look a little upset, all things considered. There was a pinch to her brow, and her nose had wrinkled as if she'd smelled something foul while she sat with the hat. Was she arguing with it? He felt the barest hints of hope flare up. Maybe, just maybe...

She wasn't a hatstall by any means. But the fact that it took any time at all was enough to make him proud.

 **~.~**

 _"Interesting perspective dear, very interesting. In that case, better be-_ Ravenclaw!"

Maia took off the hat, pushing it into the professor's arms when she seemed too startled to do so herself. The clapping began slowly, only beginning when she was halfway to her seat. She didn't care. She did it.

 _I'm sorry, Reg. But Ravenclaw is second best, isn't it? I kept my end of the promise, Siri. Did you keep yours, or are you just as much a disappointment as everyone says? Is Reg?_

She was in large parts both dreadful and excited at the new turn of events, and could only imagine how the next seven years would play out differently from then on out. She avoided the eyes of those she knew, instead turning to her new housemates with a polite smile. "Hello..."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait! You know when people tell you to get a life, yeah? Well, I tried it, and my advice is to not! It's absolute torture! I'll try to update again soon to make up for it. Oh, and I deleted my other story- there was too much that wasn't related to the books, but I might do another story with the same characters, just different circumstances. Also, this might be a tad different than the other two chapters? I think my writing changed. Adeline and Lucas will be included next chapter, promise! One more thing- thank you for the reviews! There's only two, but they're what finally motivated me to write another chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world or any of it's characters. (I wish.)**

 **Chapter 3**

"Look, there she is!"

" _That's_ the Black girl everyone's been making a fuss about? She's puny!"

"She looks so much like her brothers, especially Sirius! I just wish she'd also gotten sorted there, I would have made a lot of money..."

"I still can't believe she got sorted into Ravenclaw, of all places! Even _Slytherin_ is more respectable..."

Maia ignored the stares and whispers of the rest of the student body as she walked to breakfast, pretending to be engrossed in the book one of her nicer roommates had let her borrow after she had feigned an interest in it. Instead of gratefulness the young Black found her opinion of said roommate rapidly falling, as the book proved neither informational or even a good distraction despite all the excited rambling the girl had done about it.

It did, at least, give her something to look at for a long period of time without gaining any more unwanted attention, though she knew its ultimate use had failed when a quiet set of footsteps approached, slowing their pace down to match Mai's own sluggish walk. A hand shot out to gently tug her robe, and she held back a sigh, closing the book and any pretense it might have served.

She didn't argue when the hand pulled her down a different corridor and into an abandoned classroom, her only reaction to the new space being a small frown at all the dust. Wasn't there a spell for cleaning that? Wasn't she at a magical school? She briefly considered asking one of the teachers about it before outright dismissing the idea; it was too much effort for something with no guaranteed solution, and much too early. Besides, if it continued to be a problem she could always find a way to fix it herself, right?

 _"Well?"_

Maia jerked, forgetting the other person in the room and gave her a blank look. "Well what?"

 **~.~**

"You _know_ what!" Adeline screeched, not sure whether she wanted to hex her friend or cry at her nonchalant attitude. She had just ruined _everything_ , years of planning, and all she could do was stand there and yawn?! Adeline didn't care that that it was just a part of her friend's personality, that she might honestly be confused at the outburst- Maia must have known what she was doing when she chose, and she chose _wrong!_ "Ravenclaw? _Ravenclaw?!_ Do you even know what people are saying, how this will affect people, how it affects _me?!_ Do you even _care?_ "

A sluggish blink before a small once over with the eyes. A tilt of the head. Another slow blink. "I don't understand. Are you ill?"

Adeline couldn't take it anymore. _"You're ill in the head!_ Everybody's right, you're acting just like your stupid brother-"

"What does my family have to do with this?!" Maia snapped, showing the first sign of actually caring since the conversation started. Adeline couldn't help but feel happy about that, that she was finally able to get under her skin after all Maia had done to her.

"Are you deaf?! Blind?! You _know_ , they're all Slytherins, you're supposed to be a Slytherin like Regulus or-"

"WELL I'M NOT HIM, NOW AM I?!" Adeline startled at the shout, staring. Maia _never_ shouted. But now, here she was, glaring and yelling and looking like she was about to cry- it was the most emotion Adeline had ever seen her show. A distant part of her brain reminded her that, wasn't that a good thing? Hadn't she been trying to get the other girl to show more emotion since she met her? Wasn't this what she wanted? "I'm not my mother, I'm not my father, and I'm most _certainly_ not a carbon copy of one of my idiotic brothers! Did you think that was it, that because we share a last name, I had to follow in one of their footsteps? That I can't make my own choices?!"

It took a moment for Adel to realize that Maia had stopped shouting, that she was waiting for a response. When she tried to give her one though, nothing came out. Maia scoffed, and when she spoke again it was quiet and far colder than her usual lazy drawls, making Adeline wonder how they let the argument carry this far. Was it her fault?

"I thought you, of all people, would know better. The hat put me in Ravenclaw because that's where I belong, and anyone who can't accept that isn't worth the dirt on my shoes."

With one last pointed glance at Adel Maia left without another word, and Adeline had her answer.

 **~.~**

"Come on, please? It'll only take a few minutes! You don't even have to show me, you could just lend me the map!"

"I'm _busy_ , and even if I wasn't I don't know what map you're talking about!"

"You showed it to me just last week!"

"Oh, you mean before you called our pranks- what was it- stupid and idiotic? Do you know what he's talking about, Pads?"

"Not a clue, Prongs!"

Henry let out an exasperated groan, hardly even noticing as the last two members of the infamous marauders joined them as he nervously looked around the hall- with no other first years in sight. "I'll be late!"

"You better hurry then, shouldn't you?" Remus chipped in, walking up to the trio.

Peter nodded. "Professor McGonagall doesn't like it when people are late, just ask your brother."

Henry inwardly cursed his brother and group of friends, who proved to be no help whatsoever, darting as fast as he could to where he thought his first class might be. There was a prefect assigned to show them their classes, of course, but Henry had a nagging feeling that the girl prefect assigned to do it held a grudge against his entire family, courtesy of his brother, and the glare he received was more than enough persuasion to avoid her. Desperately sprinting around turns and up stairs, he was starting to wonder if that was really the best decision.

When he finally reached the right room after an agonizing talk with one of the portraits that lectured him on punctuality and honoring his family name, class was already in full session, making his entrance all the more noticeable as the professor stopped mid lecture to give him a stern glare. "Finally decide to join us, Mr. Potter?"

Henry shrugged, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair- he knew by watching his brother do it how stupid it'd make him look. "Sorry, Professor. I got lost."

She narrowed her eyes, studying him for any sign of lying. "Any more 'getting lost', Mr. Potter, will land you in detention with your brother- and that goes for everyone here, so you two can stop your snickering since you made the same mistake."

The Slytherins quieted down at that, and Henry blushed ashamedly when she turned back to him. "Yes Ma'am."

With a sharp nod she resumed teaching, leaving him to find an empty seat. The class was mostly full, but there was a curious lack of students around a certain ebony haired Ravenclaw that was studiously copying down notes. He hesitantly approached, and when she didn't say anything in protest, sat beside her in the back of the classroom. It wasn't until she shifted her head just a little to get a better view of the board that he recognized her.

"You're the girl from the boat!"

She blinked at him in apparent surprise, turning to get a proper look at him for the first time since he entered. "So I am," she observed.

Henry grinned but she turned away, going back to ignoring him in favor of her notes. The grin began to slightly fade at that, and he got ready to start taking notes. Then he stopped, because when did his ink become a flashing neon pink? His eyebrow twitched. He was going to _kill_ his brother! Taking a deep breath, he turned to his new desk partner with another smile. "Hey, do you think I could borrow some of your ink?"

She raised an eyebrow, but when there was no forthcoming explanation dipped her head and pushed her ink to rest in between them, lips slightly upturned in bitter amusement. "Following in your brother's footsteps?"

Henry took a moment to process that before his face heated to red. "No! I'm nothing like him, I-"

"Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall snapped. "Something you'd like to share with the class?"

Realizing he'd started raising his voice, the blush only deepened as he sunk down into his seat. "Er- no ma'am. Sorry professor..."

He heard a soft snort and saw his partner biting her lip to hold back a laugh. He scowled and, unable to resist the childish temptation, stuck his tongue out at her. The girl gave an amused huff, rolling her eyes before resuming her note taking. The rest of the class was spent in peaceful silence, the sound of quills scratching parchment the only sound to fill the room. When class ended, all the students were relieved to be done with it, packing their things and leaving in a hurry. When the girl he sat beside began to leave, he had to call out, hoping the professor wouldn't give him detention for raising his voice now that class was over.

"Hey, wait!" She stopped, and upon seeing it was her he was calling after, waited patiently for him to run up. He held the ink jar out to her. "You left it on the desk."

She smiled- not a smirk, not a simple upturn of the lips, an actual _smile_. "Keep it, unless you'd like to ask to borrow it from someone else every class. Besides it'll probably do you more good than me."

Henry tried to make sense of her words, not wanting to take her ink- especially remembering how serious she seemed when taking notes, when she flashed him a view of said 'notes'.

Henry stared.

Doodles. Doodles, everywhere, hardly leaving any white left on the parchment. Doodles of animals, doodles of people, doodles of buildings and strange patterns. Doodles, doodles, and more doodles. That's _all_ there was.

"You-!"

She giggled before taking it back, giving him a backwards wave and leaving him dazed. She was a Ravenclaw, right? But then, all those times he thought she was taking notes- he couldn't help it. He laughed, and that was the moment Henry decided he wanted to befriend the strange Ravenclaw girl. _Come to think of it, what'd she say her name was?_

 **~.~**

 _Was this really the right thing to do?_

Maia bit her lip and pushed on, smiling and laughing with the others around her as her housemates told them stories. Whether or not they were actually good stories, she didn't know, her eyes darting back to the Slytherin table every now and then. And occasionally the Gryffindor table. It'd have been easier if they weren't on opposite sides of the hall, but she thought she was managing well enough. That is, until someone had to nudge her in the side again.

"Hey, did you hear him?"

Maia blinked. "Oh, I'm afraid I didn't. Could you repeat that?"

The third year grinned, seemingly not taking any offense at her lack of attention. "Well, you're the sister of Regulus and Sirius, right? What was it like growing up with them? They're polar opposites! Sirius is a loud prankster, while Regulus is some quiet model student- they must have fought a lot, huh? Which one do you get along better with?"

 _Which one would you choose, if it came down to it?_

Maia closed her eyes and counted to three, reciting random information. _The boy from earlier is the younger brother to James Potter, heir of the Potter family. The Potter family was known for generations for their skill in warding, information they have recorded either in their private library or at Gringotts- they're also the family that helped Sirius, but left Regulus when they knew he had to be going through the same things and-_

"It's hard to say. Excuse me, I forgot I told somebody I'd meet them outside..."

 **~.~**

"-and it turned out to be filled with pictures! A Ravenclaw, doodling throughout all of class! She drew everything, animals and these weird patterns and I think she might've taken a few notes, but it also looked like it was just practice calligraphy."

James rolled his eyes, reaching for another rock to throw into the lake. "Don't you have your own friends to bother? Besides, I thought you were mad at us?"

Henry shook his head. "No, I'm only mad at _you-_ and maybe Sirius. You're the ones who most likely came up with the idea, anyways!"

James elbowed him in the ribs for that, getting a laugh out of Peter, but Sirius was strangely quiet. Remus looked confused. "Patterns?"

"Yeah, like.." He shoved his brother aside, grabbing a stick before hitting him with it when he pulled him into a noogie. "Stop that, I'm trying to show Remus something!"

When he was finally free of his brother's clutches he began using the stick to draw in the dirt, the four leaning in close to see what he was drawing. When he was done, nobody said anything for a while until Sirius took the stick from his hands.

"You mean like this?"

He drew something similar, but slightly different beside his picture- connected circles with strange symbols surrounding them. Henry nodded, excited. "Yeah, just like that! But there were tons, and they were all just a bit different. What do you think they're for?"

But Remus shook his head, giving him a serious look that wiped most of the eagerness away. "Henry, those aren't just patterns- those are _runes."_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yeah...so the story was almost abandoned, but ta-da! It's not! Thank you for any lurkers, follows, favorites, or reviews!**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own the Harry Potter world or any of it's characters. Surprise!**

 **Chapter Four**

"Remember, class, I want you to take notes on what you see today and write a foot of parchment explaining the unique qualities of each plant! It can be found in your books on page 17.."

Adeline scowled as the listened to the peppy professor, positive she was just acting as such to get on her nerves.

It was working.

Reluctantly she walked over to a family of dancing daisies, observing them with nothing short of pure loathing etched upon her face. Why were they so happy? They were plants! Nobody cared if plants were happy! Yet here the first year witches and wizards were, studying them like they were something important, something that actually had meaning in the world...

Adeline thought her friendship with Maia had a lot of meaning. Adeline was happy when Maia was there.

That was over a week ago.

"Pssst, hey! Blondie! Helloooo- no, not you, the Slytherin!"

Adeline wondered what Maia was doing now. She was probably lazing about, making fun of a poorly written book with her _other_ friends. Since when did she even have other friends? The fact that Adel didn't even know that much hurt a lot more than it should have. And now?

"Um, person near the dancing flowers? Miss? Can you hear me?"

Now Adeline was absolutely _miserable_.

"Hey! Girl with the long hair, hey-"

"What do you want?!" Adeline snapped, turning on the Hufflepuff with her brother's trademark Scowl-of-Doom #27, bearing a very close resemblance to the You-Shouldn't-Have-Done-That-Scowl #14- but she hadn't perfected that one. Yet.

Apparently she still had to work on #27, if the ginger's grin was anything to go by. "Hey, do you wanna work together? I mean, that way we'll get done quicker and she said we could explore the rest of the greenhouse if we were with somebody else! I heard that there's a bunch of tress with edible leaves towards the back that I really want to visit, and-"

"Is that all?" Adeline asked, cutting him short.

The boy blushed, yet the grin remained firmly stuck in place. "Yeah!"

Adeline rolled her eyes, bending down to get a closer look at the plants. The boy rambled on some more, but eventually fell quiet when he realized she wasn't going to respond. Still he stayed, loudly scribbling down hurried notes beside her.

It wasn't too bad, once he shut up. Though neither of them said anything she recognized him from the boat, and remembered him telling his friend about a sister. She didn't recognize him from any of the parties she'd attended, so she ranked him as a low half blood in her mind- somewhat dirty, but not the worst of the lot.

It was almost even peaceful, and she was optimistic for the rest of the class period if it all played out the same way.

It didn't.

"LUCAS!"

The boy jumped next to her, accidentally elbowing her as he turned around at the sound of his name. Adeline jerked, and her fingernail sliced through one of the smaller flower's leaves. She dimly heard her partner talking to someone behind her, too focused on the trembling baby flower and the fact that the rest had stopped dancing.

They had mouths. They were able to sing once they were more mature. Didn't that mean they could..?

She yanked the ginger's arm, hissing at him in barely concealed panic. "They're about to scream!"

Lucas looked at her with wide eyes, confused before he saw the shaking plants. "Oh crud- Cooper, pass me the water!"

"What do you need the-"

"Wait, no-!"

Before anyone could stop him he dashed forward, grabbing the bucket and throwing it against the flowers.

Adeline couldn't believe. She, was he-

"Are you an idiot?!"

"What?! You said you didn't want them to scream, so now with the water they can't-"

"THAT'S NOT WATER-"

BOOM!

A few seconds of silence. And then came the screams, from flowers and children alike.

"FIRE!"

And the best part...

"MISS AVERY AND MISTER WHITE! DETENTION-"

 **~.~**

"-for the rest of the week and thirty points! Can you believe that?! It wasn't even my fault, I swear, and now they'll probably send a letter home to boot! You'll write to them, won't you, and explain what's going on? Aidrik?"

"Where's Maia, Adeline?"

Adel pulled a face. "Does it matter?"

Aidrik rolled his eyes at his younger sister before checking his watch, then peering down the turn. Adeline huffed.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Have you talked to her since your argument about the sorting?"

"I asked first!"

"I was _born_ first." He smirked when she made another face, but his eyes kept darting to and fro- just watching made it made Adel dizzy. He cut her off before she even said anything, gesturing for her to shoo since he was "busy". Adeline asked him not so kindly if he mistook the water for firewhiskey again, and was now fuming at his response as she marched a path into the Great Hall. Honestly, how could her brother be so uncivilized?

That wasn't even mentioning how he asked about Maia before herself, his own sister- not that she didn't constantly fill him in anyways, but it was still rude!

All that to say, she wasn't happy as she made her way across the hall, and wasn't watching when somebody idiotically got in her way, forcing her backwards. Adeline's eyes flashed, and she was ready to unleash a torrent of the soon to be famous Avery Wrath when the person rushed over, hands gesturing wildly at her as if she were some _animal_ to be _tamed._

"I'm so sorry! I- wait, you're the girl I've been looking for! I found you! You're friends with that one Ravenclaw, aren't you? From the boat?"

"Who in Merlin's name are you?! Give me one reason not to hex you, you dingbat, these robes were brand new!"

The gryffindor scowled back, switching from startled to angry and confused in a heartbeat. "I said sorry, what's your problem?! Your robes are fine!"

Adeline scoffed, backing away and pointedly dusting her robes off. "Yes, they _were_ fine until you got your filthy hands on them! I might as well have rolled in mud, with how they are now."

The other boy twitched, face turning an ugly puce red as he glared with all the might of an angry kitten. "Seems like it'd only be an improvement, if you ask me."

 **~.~**

"Here are your books back. Thank you for letting me borrow them."

"No problem!" Leia took the books back with an excited smile, humming as she putting them back in their bookshelf. "How did you like them?"

"I didn't."

"Then why do you keep reading them?" Leia laughed as she looked back to her quietest roommate, crooning as she swooped over and very tempted to pull her into a hug. She was just so adorable! "Black, you're _blushing_ -"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

Leia was happy to see the girl that was finally starting to break out of her shell after a month of staying. She didn't take much offense to what she said, because after the first couple of weeks she realized there was no offense intended. The girl was just crazily socially inept. So she patiently waited for her roommate to begin listing off reasons why she didn't like the books, pointing out all the illogical things and questioning their motives- she didn't seem to understand the concept of love-at-first-sight, thinking it was a joke when Leia first tried to explain.

Leia, whose bookshelf was full of epic romance adventures and fairytales in three different languages, had resolved to fix this by the end of the year. What really took her by surprise was the fact that the other girl actually went along with it. Leia knew her gossip, and wondered what kind of supposedly evil, stiff, and proper pureblood read so many fictional fables for fun, even offering to translate some from the library. She put fifteen galleons in the house betting pool that she turned out more like her Gryffindor brother by Christmas.

Their banter was cut short, however, when their door opened up to two snickering girls, who sneered once they saw them. More specifically, their fourth roommate.

"Black."

"Harpers, Valentine."

Leia took a few steps back, drawing attention from all three girls. Leia opened her mouth, trying to think of an excuse when her new friend sniffed, grabbing her bag from the wooden floor. "Class is in twenty, I'm going to the library."

She spared Leia another look before sweeping past, strolling through the opening Amelia and Lisa made for her without stopping once. Leia watched her go, wondering if she was brave or just didn't think highly enough of the two witches for them to be considered a threat. The way they glared after her, hands twitching toward their wands, Leia wasn't so sure.

After a few seconds Amelia scoffed, strutting to the mirror to fix her make-up. That was another thing Leia didn't understand. Weren't they too young for make-up?

"I don't know why you keep talking to her, Leia. I bet she laughs at you with the rest of the Slytherins, gossiping about with your mixed dirty blood and messy hair."

"We told you it's best to stay away from her! Why do you still hang out with her? Do you not believe us?"

Leia fiddled with her necklace, self consciously running a hand through her hair. "It's not- I mean, she's not that bad. Or, well, she hasn't been that mean and she's translating some books for me, and, well-"

Lisa rolled her eyes. "What, so you're using her, is that it?"

Leia hesitated. No, no, no! But what was she to say? She knew who'd win in a fight, and with Lisa playing with her wand she really didn't have much of a choice. She looked to the side, and regretted it immediately when muddy brown eyes met sky blue.

"Eat with us from now on."

Leia gulped. "I, uh, yeah. That works.."

 **~.~**

"Lucas!"

The redhead quickly hid his arm behind his back, looking up at the brunette calling him. "Henry?"

"Hey! What are you doing? Do you want to play Quidditch later? My brother is getting together a bunch of people, and there's still a spot open for chaser and seeker!"

Lucas grimaced, shifting his feet at his friend's excitement. "I might've, but I have detention later. And even if I didn't, the last time I flied I got stuck upside down- not fun."

Henry snorted. "How'd you manage that? Were you trying to do a roll? How'd you get detention?"

"I, uh, accidentally helped set the greenhouse on fire...it wasn't my fault, though! And anyways, I'm kind of busy, so-"

"Is that a dungbomb?"

"...no?"

 **~.~**

"Maia!"

Maia paused on her way out of the library, holding her books protectively to her chest when she heard the familiar voice. The blonde stopped just a few feet in front of her, gasping for breath. When she was done she looked up, and they stared at each other before Adel quickly looked away, glancing at her books before becoming interested in her green striped nails. "They have Dragon Soup in the Great Hall."

"Is that all?"

"Aidrik wanted to know how you were doing."

"Fine."

"I have detention."

Maia blinked. "What?"

Adeline looked over again, frowning. "Remember that half-blood from the boat? He's crazy! He just threw a bucket of flammable juices at these innocent baby flowers and blew up part of the greenhouse! We're really lucky we didn't get burned, and then I got in trouble for standing next to him! And that other one, the Potter kid? I think he's stalking you! He just rammed into me, asking about you, and when I didn't answer he got all mad and started sprouting all this nonsense!"

Maia stared, trying to process all the information. Someone blew up part of the greenhouse? Henry was stalking her? Adeline cleared her throat, and Maia only just realized how bad the other girl looked- messy hair, bags under her eyes and flushed cheeks. She began fiddling with the pendant she kept tucked under her robes, quieting down to normal voice levels instead of her usual loud tones. "Anyways, I just thought you should know."

She spun on her heel, walking away, and after a pause Maia ran to keep pace. "Dragon Soup, then?"

Adeline jumped, and Maia took that time to catch her own breath. A moment later, she smirked. "Yeah, but you may want to fly a few laps before eating anything else if that makes you tired. Doesn't Ravenclaw have flying tomorrow?"

"Rather that than bonding over destruction of property with your new friend. Have fun wiping mucus and feces from cauldrons, Del."

 **A/N: Fun fact- This chapter was almost a lot of things. Maia almost became a squib that cheated her way into Hogwarts, Henry almost began to temporarily hate Maia, Maia was almost put into the cliché bullied in the bathroom scene, and there was almost a huge, violent confrontation with the marauders. Two of the four might still happen.**


End file.
